Energy Efficient Appliances Cause For Alarm
Example of Energy Efficient Appliances
Growing concerns about energy efficient appliances are getting more attention every day. In recent years rising concerns of energy wastage and increased global warming has forced us to think more conservatively about the resources that are made available to us. Hence using appliances that save energy and work efficiently are high on demand.
Companies Promote Energy Efficient Appliances
Due to popularity of energy efficient appliances many companies around the world have launched a rating system with which they tell the end user how efficient their appliance really is. We can still hear the salesman’s voice in our ears when we hear 3000 BTU, the pitch they used to sell that barbecue grill to us. That is because they know that the common man not only wants to save the planet earth from the disaster of global warming, but also from the economical loss he might incur during his day to day use of his energy efficient appliances.
Energy Efficient Appliances Fit Modern Kitchens
Modern day kitchen appliances use considerably less energy than their predecessors, most are somewhere between 40-50% more efficient. It is such a big issue that if all the homes in the US alone were to replace all their older kitchen appliances, which are more than 9 to 10 years old then around 45 billion kilowatts of energy could be saved annually. Yeah that’s a huge number! Hence it would also reduce the carbon emission to somewhere around 17-25%.
The efficiency of a product also depends on its usage during the peak energy consumption hours. Any appliance such as a Dishwasher or Air Conditioner has a peak time when it is used the most in the entire day. So even with energy efficient appliances good scheduling to prevent any amount of energy consumption during peak hours also helps to reduce the load on the certain grid and hence more energy is saved.
But for maximum efficient energy usage, the energy efficient appliances are not enough. Some humane behavioral issues may actually offset the efficiency of an appliance by over using it. For example: If the mixer grinder in the kitchen is highly efficient in saving energy, then the user may use it more often thinking it consumes lesser energy and ends up using it in even simple tasks that can be done manually, sometimes resulting in using even more energy than an inefficient appliance, this is widely known and termed as the Rebound Effect which offsets the efficiency of an appliance.
To properly educate the general population on the usage of daily kitchen appliances more efficiently, many autonomous and governmental agencies and organizations have spawned in recent years.
In the US alone there are eight such significant such bodies or organizations, which are:
- Alliance to save energy
- National Electrical Manufacturers Association
- ACEEE – American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy
- Building Energy Codes Program
- Energy Star formed by United States Environmental Protection Agency
- Industrial Assessment Center
- Rocky Mountain Institute.
As you can see there is a significant amount of attention towards building and spreading information about energy efficient appliances for replacing older home kitchen appliances.